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Everybody (sure, YOU!) might help NASA research exoplanets — planets past our photo voltaic system. Already offered? Bounce to How you can Get Began. Want extra context? Hold studying…
What’s Exoplanet Watch?
Overview | Keep in Contact | Group | Glossary | Background Info | Workforce
Overview
Who we’re: A NASA citizen science challenge, sponsored by NASA’s Universe of Studying, we assist anybody discover exoplanets at any degree, from college students to professionals. As a participant, you may collect and analyze actual exoplanet knowledge, contribute your outcomes to a NASA database, and even get recognition in your work in scientific publications!
No telescope? No downside! Anybody on this planet can try free knowledge on to your inbox, and/or use distant robotic telescopes.
Fully new to exoplanets? See our Background Info for some easy, however foundational, science explanations. Nonetheless have questions? Simply ask!
Quick Info
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What’s an exoplanet?
An exoplanet is any planet past our photo voltaic system. Most exoplanets orbit different stars. Exoplanets can cross in entrance of, or “transit,” the celebrities they orbit. And now we all know that even small yard telescopes can detect these transits!
By finding out exoplanets, you may assist reply NASA’s three massive science questions concerning the universe:
- How does the universe work?
- How did we get right here?
- Are we alone?
Develop into a Watcher! Begin your astronomical journey by becoming a member of our Slack to satisfy different Exoplanet Watchers, ask questions, troubleshoot issues, and extra. Novices are welcome! We also have a devoted #introductions-for-beginners Slack channel.
Prepared to check some exoplanets? See our How you can Get Began guidelines.
If you lookup into the night time sky, do you surprise what’s on the market past our photo voltaic system? Come assist scientists study extra concerning the exoplanets in our galaxy!
Anybody can take part! The Watchers group teaches you all the pieces you’ll want to know step-by-step. No telescope? No downside! You need to use our robotic telescopes to request knowledge to research even on a cellular machine.
When a planet passes immediately between a star and its observer, it dims the star’s gentle by a measurable quantity.
When an exoplanet orbits in between its star and the Earth, this “micro-eclipse” blocks a small proportion of the starlight. Graphing the brightness over time, there will probably be a dip within the “gentle curve” which might oftentimes be lower than 1%! Our open-source, cloud-based software program, EXOTIC, takes in your uncooked photographs/knowledge (out of your telescope or ours), then “reduces” them into a lightweight curve to seek out that dip.
You can add your outcomes into our NASA pipeline to assist scientists study extra about that exoplanet system. A singular identifier makes certain you get credit score in your observations each time scientists use your knowledge. As of March 2024, Exoplanet Watchers have studied over 400 completely different exoplanets, and created over 6,000 gentle curves.
Along with your assist, Exoplanet Watch will:
Make one of the best use of bigger telescopes — extra precisely predict the following transit occasion for follow-up with space-based telescopes (e.g., the Hubble House Telescope and the James Webb House Telescope) or giant ground-based telescopes
Uncover new exoplanets — utilizing transit timing variations to deduce the existence of an extra exoplanet in a extrasolar system
Monitor stellar variability — modifications in a star’s brightness attributable to spots (darkish areas) and plages (brilliant areas) of an exoplanet’s host star will be measured
Verify new exoplanets — assist verify the existence of newly found exoplanets
As an Exoplanet Watch citizen scientist, you’ll:
Find out how science is completed from starting to finish, amassing knowledge, processing it, sharing it, and studying papers that incorporate it
Observe transiting exoplanets (when you have a telescope), or request knowledge from different individuals’s telescopes (if you don’t) utilizing our knowledge checkout system
“Scale back” and analyze your knowledge, utilizing our free, open-source EXOTIC software program, to create your individual transiting exoplanet gentle curves
Add your outcomes to the American Affiliation of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO) Exoplanet Database
Have your gentle curve included on the Exoplanet Watch’s Outcomes webpage
In case your observations or gentle curves are utilized in a scientific paper, your title will probably be listed as a co-author on the paper, and you’ll get credit score for collaborating in scientific analysis
Meet astronomers who research exoplanets professionally and collaborate with different citizen scientists in our bi-weekly conferences and on our Slack
Sounds nice! How do I take part?
Head over to our How you can Get Began web page to study extra… and get began!
Meet the Workforce
Be a part of our Slack!
Meet different Exoplanet Watch individuals, ask questions, troubleshoot issues, get updates on our biweekly full workforce conferences, and extra. Click on on the hyperlink to enroll and/or log into our Slack.
Web page Up to date: November 5, 2024
Additionally:
Meet the Workforce — Be a part of our Slack to satisfy different Exoplanet Watch individuals, ask questions, troubleshoot issues, get updates on our biweekly full workforce conferences, and extra. Click on on the Slack brand beneath to enroll and/or log into our Slack.
Study Extra and Get Concerned
Exoplanet Watch Publication
Subscribe to the Exoplanet Watch publication, and skim earlier editions.
Meet the Workforce
Be a part of our Slack to satisfy different Exoplanet Watch individuals, ask questions, troubleshoot issues, get updates on our biweekly full workforce conferences, and extra.
Hold Exploring
